When the Philadelphia Eagles host the Arizona Cardinals in Week 17, it will be a reunion for many of the players with their former defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon.

For one player in particular, losing to his former coach is not an option, and he wants to make sure the Eagles beat Gannon’s Cardinals handily.

“Gannon’s my boy, man. I miss him,” defensive end Josh Sweat said via ESPN. “A lot of energy and a great coach. We’ve got to whoop his ass. We can’t let him [come in and beat us]. But after, it’s all love.”

Gannon spent two seasons as Philadelphia’s defensive coordinator after he was hired in 2021 by head coach Nick Sirianni. In his first season, the team ranked 18th in opponent points per game and 10th in opponent yards per game. Many improvements were made going into 2022 and that season, the defense was eighth in points per game and second in yards per game.

His tenure with the Eagles did end on a sour note, however, as his defense gave up 17 points in the fourth quarter to the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl, contributing to the loss. It was also revealed around the time of the 2023 NFL Draft that Arizona had tampered with Gannon before the Super Bowl.

Sweat thrived under Gannon, setting career-highs in sacks and total tackles in each of the two seasons that he was defensive coordinator. In 2021, Sweat made his first Pro Bowl with a 7.5 sack season before one-upping himself in 2022 with 11.0 sacks.

The game will kick off at 1 p.m. from Lincoln Financial Field on New Year’s Eve with Philadelphia as 10.5 point favorites.